STATE COLLEGE -- If anything was made clear Saturday at Beaver Stadium in front of 92,855 fans, it was that Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles was exactly as advertised.

The signal caller received much of the praise in the build-up to the Knights' show down with Penn State, which proved to be warranted after he tossed for 288 yards and three scores to lead UCF to a 34-31 victory. He faced little pressure from Penn State's defensive line, often found receivers open with no defender to challenge in sight, and fit passes into a tight window when he needed to.

Just three games separate Penn State's Jordan Lucas from his first start in blue and white at cornerback. Saturday's game could be considered a learning experience for him, something he agreed to afterward.

Lucas could be found opposite Knights' receiver J.J. Worton at times, but regardless who lined up to challenge him, it didn't much matter. Worton finished with seven catches for 101 yards and a score, and was one of three Knights' receivers to record at least 50 receiving yards.

"I feel like it was a test for us. It's just like in school: you have that first test, and when you see something like that it in that final, you know the answer," Lucas said. "I think it's good that we saw this early."

With the Lions trailing 31-24 early in the fourth quarter, and with momentum on their side after Zach Zwinak plowed in from a yard out to start the final frame and pull State within seven, it seemed that Butler's defense had found it's way off the field after Lucas broke out a third down pass intended for Worton. But just as quickly as the ball hit the ground, so, too, did a flag.

Lucas said he didn't expect to be called for pass interference on the play, and judging by the reaction of Penn State's sideline, neither did it. Yet, the infraction allowed UCF's drive to continue, which ultimately ended in a Shawn Moffitt 36-yard field goal to swell the Knights' lead to 10.

"You can make contact with the receiver until the ball is in the air, and we were in man coverage, I had my eyes on him, and he made a late break on his route and I was inside of him," Lucas said. "I quick got my hands on him, turned my head, the ball flew past me, I looked at the ref, and flag. I thought it was good coverage.

"Those types of plays are big time buzz kills," Butler added. "It was a bang bang play, and you just hate those plays to end like they did. You like them to end with the players making the play, but that's the nature of this game."

Plays like that one and others that Penn State allowed may easily shake the confidence of a young corner, yet in the minds of Trevor Williams, who started opposite Lucas, and Butler, that isn't the case.

Stats, and records, and pride may be affected after allowing 507 yards of total offense, but ask if it diminishes the confidence of defensive players, and the answer is simple.

"Everybody on this team, we work hard on both sides of the ball. Of course, nobody likes to lose, but come Monday, we have to get back to the basics and get ready for Kent State," Williams said.

"If there is one thing people around here should know about our players is that they've been through a lot worse than losing to Central Florida," Butler said. "Their confidence, I think, is shaken like it always is in a loss, but they'll go back to the drawing board Monday, correct what they have to correct, and move forward. But I have no concern about that."

Adjustments and changes can be made over 60 minutes of play, yet crystal clear review of faults and mistakes can only be seen on film. If anything else was made clear in the moments after the game, it was that Sunday and Monday will set aside plenty of time to review the tape.

There will be plenty to correct after Saturday, but there is also plenty of time to do it. And even if Lucas spoke just moments after he came off the field, he already has a laundry list of areas he wants to focus on.

"Every game, I keep getting more comfortable with playing. Every snap, I have to give it 120 percent. I can't take a play off," Lucas said. "Cause if I take a play off, that's a touchdown.

"My technique, where my eyes are throughout the game, that's all you can really look at," he continued when asked what he'll look at on film. "The one catch he had on me was a close one on the sidelines. I was covering him, and he made a first catch. I need to work on my ball disruption."